Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Facebook is Getting Stingy...

Facebook has gone public, and now it's got a need for greed...

Facebook now only allows the posts we make to reach a small percentage of our fans. If we want to make our posts "visible" to all our fans, we have to pay money. Me no likey having to pay for our fans to see what we have to say. Is this the beginning of the end for Facebook? Maybe. Zuckerberg sure got out while the going was good, that is for sure!

If you are a fan of our Facebook Page and want to make sure you see all of our posts and photos, hover over the 'LIKE' (or 'LIKED') button on our page please make sure that you also click 'SHOW IN NEWS FEED' so that you can be sure to see all of the posts being made.

Sorry for this impersonal post about such a boring topic, but we thought you should know!

8 comments:

You have a lot of Facebook fans, (Well, a lot more than I do.) You use your Facebook page to promote your blog which you use partly to raise donations from readers, and to obtain money, products and services from sponsors to support your cruising lifestyle.

Nothing wrong with all that but Facebook is a business and to them you probably look a lot like a business too. I can't really blame them if they look to people using their service to make money as a source for them to make money.

Hope that doesn't offend you, but it's how I see it.

Facebook isn't a charity. It isn't a free public service like a library. It's a business. Businesses exist to make money for their shareholders.

@tillerman - I am not offended at all, appreciate your opinion and you do have a food point. Free enterprise is what this country grew on and I appreciate that Facebook is trying to make a buck...doesn't mean I have to like it!! I think if fans "like" our page, however, I should not have to pay for those fans to see our posts. And no worries, I will not charge people to read this blog!!! If people enjoy it and chose to donate (because I do work very hard at this, spend a lot if time on it andmany people find enjoyment in it) they ate welcome to, bit in mo way would that ever be expected!!! The blog will remain free for all to enjoy :)@Marving- can't see that page from my iPhone, but yes, google + seems like it might be the "next thing". Social media is a finicky biz and there is little to no loyalty so if something better comes around, we'll jump on board :)@

I enjoy all your hard work and can tell you put a lot of effort into your content. The more readers, the better the reason to raise the bar ... as well as your cost to produce (still waiting for your video?).

As for FB, they have come to a realization that the ads are NOT creating enough income and that they are no longer building something that can exist without profit. Investors expect a return. It looks as if you'll be weighing what you do in the same way (smaller scale), and will have to ask yourself, "do we generate enough income from our content to pay for Facebook Fans? I think it is time for a book or video!

Oh ... how about updating your "crew" link! I suspect you have at least "one" photo by now that is more representative? ;-)

@Rich - videos will be coming! We've just been so busy lately...but yes, that is in our "future" goals for the blog - to have more video content.

I know why Facebook is charging, and I get it. I just think there was probably a better way (though I haven't thought on it hard enough to come up with one). My guess is that this is the beginning of the end for Facebook and Mr. Z is laughing all the way to the bank. He knows his business and he got out while the going was good. Social media (as I said in a previous comment) is a boom and bust sort of industry and can potentially change with the wind. He knew FB had a shelf life, and this whole charging people to see content I suspect is going to turn a lot of people off. I like FB a lot for how we use it, so I'll continue to use it as long as payment is simply an option and not a demand.

Blogger doesn't charge people to use their platform and there are MANY bloggers out there who make a hefty salary from their blogs. Just an example of something similar that does not charge.

As for our blog - I'm very happy at where we're headed and how we're getting there. While I will charge for a book (we do have one, check it out on the side bar, it's good!) I would never charge anyone to view our content. That would be shooting ourselves in the foot I think.

And yes - many people have suggested I update the crew page! Gotta get on that!! Thanks :)